I’m a financially independent student living in Leuven, Belgium. I’m studying a Masters in music composition while working around 11 hours a week. Here’s some information about my budget of schoolyear 2023-2024. Feel free to ask me about anything or give me tips/feedback on my chart or on my spending habits!
* **Academy**: I teach piano 9 hours a week in a music-academy. Our academies are government funded.Â
* **Private Students**: I teach piano privately to a few students a week.Â
* **Church**: Every few weeks I accompany three masses on organ.Â
* **Flemish Government**: The Flemish government gives everyone under 25 a monthly allowance (I turned 25 in June). The amount depends on your financial situation.Â
* **Summer Job**: I worked in a kitchen for a week during summer.Â
* **Rent + Utilities**: I share a 100m^2 (10750 sq feet) two-bedroom apartment with my partner. The rent with utilities is around 1050 euros a month. That’s reasonable, as Leuven is one of the most expensive places to live in Belgium.Â
* **Groceries**: I eat vegetarian and relatively frugally.Â
* **Transportation**: Mostly taking trains, but also some taxies. Public transport is relatively cheap in Belgium as a student. A large part of this was payed back to me by the academy I work at (counted together with my salary).
* **University**: Tuition + materials for university.
* **Therapy**: I go to therapy every few weeks.Â
* **Insurance**: Health care insurance (108 euro a year)+ insurance for scooter accidents (140 euro a year).
* **Unexpected**: Things like bike repair, buying medicine etc.Â
* **Scooter**: I bought a secondhand electric moped (Niu NQi) so I don’t have to rely on the bus anymore.
* **Dining Out**: Dining out is my favourite way to splurge, and hang out with my friends. Dining out in Leuven is pretty inexpensive as it is a student town.Â
* **Spending Money**: Money I spend freely during the month. Things like books, games, furniture, stationary.Â
* **Gifts & Donations**: Mostly donations, but I included some gifts I gave this year.Â
* **Activities**: Going to bars, cinema or museums.Â
* **Coffee Bars**: I love going to coffee bars, but I try to not go overboard with it.Â
* **Subscriptions**: I have a subscription for: iCloud, Apple Music, YNAB, YouTube Premium. All family plans shared with friends.
* **Clothes**: I only buy second-hand clothes.Â
* **Investing**: I try to invest as much as I can in ETFs.
**More details**:
* 1 euro = 1,11 USDÂ
* This is from September 2023 till August 2024.Â
* Percentages are rounded.Â
* I use YNAB to plan my budget and track my expenses.Â
* I made this graph with [https://sankeymatic.com](https://sankeymatic.com/)Â
* Tuition cost in Belgium is between 125 euro and 1.100 euro depending on your financial situation.
nythnggs4590 on
No debt? Rent between 1/4 and 1/3 of income? Investing over 15% of income?
You’re killing it!! Keep this up and you’ll be a multimillionaire when you retire!! And to all those who say it can’t be done… look at this!
2 Comments
I’m a financially independent student living in Leuven, Belgium. I’m studying a Masters in music composition while working around 11 hours a week. Here’s some information about my budget of schoolyear 2023-2024. Feel free to ask me about anything or give me tips/feedback on my chart or on my spending habits!
* **Academy**: I teach piano 9 hours a week in a music-academy. Our academies are government funded.Â
* **Private Students**: I teach piano privately to a few students a week.Â
* **Church**: Every few weeks I accompany three masses on organ.Â
* **Flemish Government**: The Flemish government gives everyone under 25 a monthly allowance (I turned 25 in June). The amount depends on your financial situation.Â
* **Summer Job**: I worked in a kitchen for a week during summer.Â
* **Rent + Utilities**: I share a 100m^2 (10750 sq feet) two-bedroom apartment with my partner. The rent with utilities is around 1050 euros a month. That’s reasonable, as Leuven is one of the most expensive places to live in Belgium.Â
* **Groceries**: I eat vegetarian and relatively frugally.Â
* **Transportation**: Mostly taking trains, but also some taxies. Public transport is relatively cheap in Belgium as a student. A large part of this was payed back to me by the academy I work at (counted together with my salary).
* **University**: Tuition + materials for university.
* **Therapy**: I go to therapy every few weeks.Â
* **Insurance**: Health care insurance (108 euro a year)+ insurance for scooter accidents (140 euro a year).
* **Unexpected**: Things like bike repair, buying medicine etc.Â
* **Scooter**: I bought a secondhand electric moped (Niu NQi) so I don’t have to rely on the bus anymore.
* **Dining Out**: Dining out is my favourite way to splurge, and hang out with my friends. Dining out in Leuven is pretty inexpensive as it is a student town.Â
* **Spending Money**: Money I spend freely during the month. Things like books, games, furniture, stationary.Â
* **Gifts & Donations**: Mostly donations, but I included some gifts I gave this year.Â
* **Activities**: Going to bars, cinema or museums.Â
* **Coffee Bars**: I love going to coffee bars, but I try to not go overboard with it.Â
* **Subscriptions**: I have a subscription for: iCloud, Apple Music, YNAB, YouTube Premium. All family plans shared with friends.
* **Clothes**: I only buy second-hand clothes.Â
* **Investing**: I try to invest as much as I can in ETFs.
**More details**:
* 1 euro = 1,11 USDÂ
* This is from September 2023 till August 2024.Â
* Percentages are rounded.Â
* I use YNAB to plan my budget and track my expenses.Â
* I made this graph with [https://sankeymatic.com](https://sankeymatic.com/)Â
* Tuition cost in Belgium is between 125 euro and 1.100 euro depending on your financial situation.
No debt? Rent between 1/4 and 1/3 of income? Investing over 15% of income?
You’re killing it!! Keep this up and you’ll be a multimillionaire when you retire!! And to all those who say it can’t be done… look at this!